Munther Isaac

Isaac was born in 1979 in Beit Sahour, Palestine, into an Orthodox Christian family. Isaac has childhood memories of Christmas shopping in Jerusalem, a city which the Israeli government no longer allows him to visit. == Career ==

In 2012, Isaac became the director of Christ at the Checkpoint (CATC), a conference which seeks to encourage and organize opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestine among Christians from other countries. According to Isaac, CATC has contributed to more awareness of Palestinian viewpoints among Evangelical Christians. Palestinian pastor Mitri Raheb mentored Isaac and encouraged him to become a pastor. In 2016, Isaac became an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). As of 2019, Isaac estimated that Christmas Lutheran Church had 160 local members with thousands more living abroad. Many Palestinian Christians have left the West Bank due to the Israeli occupation and high rates of unemployment. He co-wrote an op-ed in Haaretz predicting that the plan would not achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians but would instead harm the rights of Palestinians, especially Palestinian Christians. Additionally, he called it "a mortal blow to a dynamic Christian presence in the birthplace of Jesus." Isaac appeared in 'Til Kingdom Come (2020), an Israeli documentary about American Christian support for Israel. In the film he explains his view to pastor William Bingham that Christian Zionism contributes to the oppression of Palestinians. After their conversation, Bingham calls Isaac an anti-semite and says that Palestinians do not exist. Gaza war In November 2023, Isaac brought a letter from several Bethlehem churches to US President Joseph Biden urging him to end the Gaza war. During advent season that year, Isaac compared the story of Jesus's birth to the situation in Palestine. On Christmas Eve, Isaac preached a sermon entitled "Christ in the Rubble: A Liturgy of Lament" in which he stated: "We, the Palestinians, will recover, as we always have... But for those who are complicit, I feel sorry for you. Will you ever recover from this?... we will not accept your apology after the genocide." Video of his sermon and photos of the nativity scene went viral on social media. According to Isaac, churches in other countries have sent him photos of their similar nativity scenes. Isaac has given speeches in various venues across the world, including the Riverside Church in New York City, St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., and the Global Anti-Apartheid Conference for Palestine in Johannesburg. Following Isaac's speech at a pro-Palestine protest in London that featured Jeremy Corbyn, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby cancelled their February 2024 meeting. Welby reportedly decided against meeting with Isaac because he feared offending the Jewish community. After Isaac and others publicly criticized Welby's actions, Welby apologized and rescheduled their meeting. Isaac has criticized Israel's treatment of Palestinian Christians. In an April 2024 interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, Isaac accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The interview, which garnered mixed reactions from American conservatives, In December 2024, Isaac expressed frustration at the lack of progress made towards ending the war but noted that Israel's conduct during the war has led to decreasing support for Israel among Christians in other countries. Other churches including St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., and All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, have created similar nativity scenes inspired by the one at Isaac's church. Isaac delivered a sermon entitled: "Christ Is Still in the Rubble", stating: "'Never again’ has become ‘yet again’ — yet again to supremacy, yet again to racism and yet again to genocide." == Books ==

From Land to Lands, from Eden to the Renewed Earth (2015) Isaac's PhD dissertation was published as the book, From Land to Lands, from Eden to the Renewed Earth. In it, he challenges a Zionist interpretation of the Bible that God promised the land of Israel and Palestine to the Jewish people, as represented by the modern state of Israel. Instead, he argues that the land should be shared. The Other Side of the Wall (2020) In Isaac's book, The Other Side of the Wall, he criticizes Christian Zionists for ignoring Israeli human rights abuses of Palestinians and for believing that Israeli Jews will be converted to Christianity. He argues that Israel prioritizes the rights of Jewish Israelis and advocates that the land should instead be shared equally and peacefully among all people: "Even as I am committed today to the urgency of ending the Israeli occupation, I need to remind myself that the goal in itself is not ending the occupation, but rather reconciliation.” Christ in the Rubble (2025) Isaac's book, Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible and the Genocide in Gaza (Eerdmans 2025), covers the Christian response to the Gaza war. He has previously stated that the overall Christian response to the war is inadequate because it ignores the history of the conflict, accepts the Israeli narrative, and refrains from explicitly denouncing Israel for genocide and war crimes. The foreword is by Yale theologian Willie James Jennings. == Personal life ==

Isaac met his wife when he spoke at a Christian conference that she had organized. She is an architect, and they live in Beit Sahour with their two children. He is a Liverpool fan. == Selected works ==

• From Land to Lands, from Eden to the Renewed Earth: A Christ-Centred Biblical Theology of the Promised Land (2015). Langham Monographs. . • The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope (2020). InterVarsity Press. . • Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible, and the Genocide in Gaza (2025). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. . == References ==